What should've been
by louellie
Summary: My take on how The Vampire Diaries could've been. Totally different take on life in Mystic Falls, Delena and more. Will their love story be just as epic a second time around?
1. Chapter 1

She woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. Every morning, the same song. She had always meant to change it but she never got around to it. Elena Gilbert woke up feeling the way she felt every single morning since her parents had died. Empty. Useless. Of course she had always hoped one day she would wake up and it had all been a dream. The car accident. Losing her parents. Her brother going off the rails. Her friends nagging her to move on with her life. But, much to her luck, it was reality.

She started getting ready for school, pulling out her usual jeans, tank top and converse from her closet. Her style was very basic for school, but when it came to events, school dances or even family outings, she was a goddess. She never felt it herself, though. Next to her friends she felt very lost, almost hidden behind them. Like she could just fade away and no one would notice.

After getting dressed, straightening her long brown hair and packing her bag with books she needed for the day, she stood in front of her mirror, staring at herself. She took a deep breath and nodded at herself.

"I can do this." She whispered.

She walked through to her brothers room and peered through the door.

"You ready, Jer?" She asked, hoping for a response that didn't sound like he hated her guts.

But, of course, she didn't get one.

"I'll be down in a minute!" He shouted, while slamming his door shut behind her.

Elena just sighed and walked down stairs, hoping her Aunt Jenna had left some coffee in the machine before she went to work. She was going to need alot of coffee to get through today. Luckily there was, she grabbed a mug and poured herself a generous amount. As she waited on her brother coming down stairs she found herself deep in thought, about her him. How could this have happened? Was it all her fault? Could she have done something? She wanted her brother back, there was a time her and Jeremy were best friends. Rarely ever fought, and would tell each other everything. They would spend nights in each other's bedrooms just sitting up talking. This was before their parents passed away, of course.

She almost jumped at the sound of the thud he made jumping down the last couple of stairs.

"Are we going or what?" he said, while rolling his eyes.

Elena let out a quiet smile, "Yeah, sure, let me get my keys"

When they reached school, Jeremy got out the car as fast as possible, making sure to slam the door. None of this was aimed at Elena, but he couldn't help but act out. Part of him wanted to apologise for everything and reassure her it's not her fault. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it, atleast not yet. He wasn't ready. He still needed time. Understandable, but also debatable.

Elena just sighed and started walking to her usual meet up place, where she meets her friends, Bonnie and Caroline. She found herself sighing alot lately.

"Oh my god! Elena, come here! You have to hear this!"Caroline shouted, not really caring who heard her.

She loved Caroline but she could be a little over the top sometimes and not very sympathetic, but her heart was in the right place, which Bonnie and Elena knew. That's all that mattered.

"Hey Care, what's up?" She asked, with her usual fake smile. She was getting better at them, that hardly anyone asked her if she was okay when she spoke.

"Have you seen the new guy? He's like so hot!" Caroline squealed.

Elena could see how excited this mysterious new guy made her friend, but she wasn't quite sure if she was trying to get Elena to hook up with him or if she was wanting to hook up with him herself. Either way, Elena couldn't really care, she wasn't interested in meeting someone new. Atleast that's what she thought.

"Um..no. I just got here." She said, trying not to make a fuss. Unlike her friend.

"Argh, well he is perfect! Like every girls dream, and quite mysterious, which I'm not sure if I like yet.. I mean I want to be the mysterious one!" It was clear in Caroline's face she wanted to know this boy more than she thought.

Elena and Bonnie exchanged looks and chuckled. They were used to Caroline acting like this, they kind of loved her for it. It brought light into their friendship.

At that moment there he was. He turned around just as Elena looked up and their eye's met. It was obvious that he fell instantly for her. But her on the other hand... not so much. He let out a small smile, which in a weird way, warmed her heart. She didn't quite understand it.


	2. Chapter 2

Caroline squealed out. "Oh my god, he's totally into you!"

Elena's gaze was broken from him, she shook her head "What? No he's not!"

You could see the jealousy rise in Caroline's face, she was trying so hard to hide it and act happy for her friend. Truth is, she had already planned a future with this guy in her head, even though she had only known of his existence for 23 minutes.

"Um.. he kind of is, Elena." Bonnie said, just above a whisper.

"Well, I'm not looking for a relationship right now, and even if he did like me, which he doesn't, he's not really my type." Elena said, hoping that this conversation could be dropped.

Her friends looked at each other and smiled, then to Elena. They were certain she was lying.

She changed the subject, "So, are we definitely going to the bonfire tonight?"

Caroline and Bonnie knew what she was doing, but they gave up trying to get it out of her.

"Um yeah! Obviously, why wouldn't we be?" Caroline said, obviously offended that her friend even had to question if she was going to a town event.

Caroline was a sucker for these kind of things. She loved them, almost as much as she loved being a founding family member. She liked to feel important.

Mystic Falls was having their usual annual bonfire. Where everyone in town would gather, drink cheap beer, throw random things into the fire and above all, have fun. Founding families would usually host it.

"I hope the new guy is going t be there!" Caroline added.

Elena and Bonnie just laughed. The bell rang, which meant first period. History. Great.

Elena and her friends walked to class, and sat in their usual seats. Making sure to have perfect eye contact with each other. They got out their books and pens and waited. Elena noticed a different kind of handwriting on the chalk board, saying 'Mr Saltzman'. This obviously meant there was a new teacher. And just at that, he walked in. Announcing to everyone he was the new teacher, and telling people not to pronounce his name wrong. He really hated that. It wasn't his fault his parents gave him such an unusual, hard handle name. Alaric Saltzman. It was definitely a mouthful.

"Alright, if we could turn to page 78 that'd be great." He said, you could tell he was going to be a laid back teacher just by the tone of his voice.

The noise of books and paper got louder as the students were trying to find page 78.

Then, there was a light nock at the door. It was the new guy.

"Hi, is this history? Mr Saltzman?" he asked quietly, obviously quite nervous.

"It sure is, and who might you be?" Mr Saltzman asked, with a smirk. He picked up on his nervousness.

"I'm Stefan. Stefan Salvatore, sir." He turned to face the class and locked eyes with Elena, again. This time, instead of gazing, he smiled.

She didn't know what to do other than smile back. She had to admit, he was a good looking guy.

"Take a seat anywhere, Stefan. Oh and drop the 'sir'" He said, with an encouraging smile, he wanted to make this new boy feel comfortable, not only in his class, but in general. After all, it was his first day, too.

Stefan took a look around, there were only 2 empty seats left. One right at the back next to a girl, who looked like she was chewing her own hair, or one right in the middle, almost parallel with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline. He stood not knowing what to do, he obviously didn't was to sit up the back but if he was to sit in the middle he didn't want to come across as desperate.

He realised how long he was taking to make this decision, so he just sat in the first one he came to. The one in the middle. He sat down quietly, trying to look over at a book to see which page to turn to. Caroline willingly gave him her book and took his to turn to the page.

"Thanks." He said, with a light smile.

You could tell this made Caroline's heart flutter, even though it was only a single 'thanks'.

"Your welcome. I'm Caroline by the way!" She couldn't help but squeal, she just wanted to know him.

"I'm Stefan" he said quietly, he didn't want to get into trouble for talking during class.

The pair just smiled for a while and stared at each other. Mr Saltzman saw this.

"Alright, the battle of Gettysburg! Who can tell me the duration of this? The start date and the end date?" He asked, while still looking at Stefan and Caroline. "Anyone?" He asked again.

Finally the day had gone by quite quickly, the last bell rang. Elena has been wanting to go home all day. She rushed to her car, Jeremy wasn't going home just yet, some days after school he'd go to the old graveyard with a few friends and get stoned. Elena knew exactly what he was doing, but felt helpless to stop it. She knew he needed an escape, she just hoped it would be anything but drugs! She thought it would eventually die off, but still, 9 months down the line, he's still getting high almost everyday.

She started her engine and drove home, it was a short drive, but, it gave her time alone. She was thinking about the bonfire, she had no energy at all to go, but she was a founding family member after all, it was her obligation.

She decided to go for a nap when she got home, only for a little while, though. The day had taken alot out of her. She wanted to forget everything for a while, so she closed her eyes and drifted off.

"Elena?" She was woken by the soft sound of her aunts voice, "Elena, honey, are you going to the bonfire tonight?"

Elena opened her eyes and wiped the small bit of drool that connected her mouth to her pillow.

"Yeah, what time is it?" she asked, her voice still groggy from sleeping.

"It's almost 6:30" Her Aunt replied.

She had thirty minutes to get ready ad get to the bonfire. She put her head in her hands and shook her head, realising she had obviously slept longer than intended. She then got out of bed and walked over to her vanity, rubbing her eyes while staring at her horrendous bed head.

She sat down and attempted to do a little make up, trying to make herself look some what decent. She then walked over to her closet and picked out something quick. She finally decided to wear a dress, that went perfectly with her knee high boots. The dress wasn't too fancy, it was actually quite casual, but when Elena wore it, it looked magnificent. Classy, even.

Eight minutes to spare, she ran down stairs and out the door to her car. Aunt Jenna had already left, and god knows where Jeremy was or if he was even going. She shut her car door and started the engine, she had no idea her scarf was half hanging out of the car door. She probably wouldn't care, she was already late. She eventually got there with two and a half minutes to spare.


	3. Chapter 3

She breathed in the smell of burning wood, she had always loved Mystic Falls bonfires, ever since she was four years old. She looked around trying to find her Aunt or at least, someone she knew. But she couldn't see anyone. She didn't want to stand around by herself so she eyed up the beer keg and walked over to pour herself one. She didn't really like beer but it was free so she thought she might as well have one. Also it would kill time until she found her friends of her aunt.

After getting a beer she walked around, taking in the scenes, smiling as she watched little kids run around playing, knowing that used to be her. She missed being a kid. Running around, with a free mind and happy all the time, with no cares in the world. She was now in a daze.

"Um Elena? Hi." A small voice said, trying not to scare her.

Elena's her turned to see a man. A boy, even. It was Stefan.

"Oh hi! Stefan, right?" She replied. She knew his name but for some reason she felt as though she should say that.

"Yeah, I didn't know you were coming tonight!" He said.

"Well, my family are one of the founding families so I kinda have to." She chuckled. "But I have to admit, I'm a sucker for them, too."

"No way? Me too!" He said, surprised.

She was confused as to whether he was referring to the founding family part of the fact she loves the Mystic Falls bonfires.

"My family was actually one of the first founders, along with the Gilberts and the Fell's." He said, smirking.

Isn't he just new here? How does he know so much about this town? Why has she never heard of him or his family before? Thoughts were swarming Elena's head.

"Really? How do you know that? My second name is Gilbert." She instantly wanted to know more.

His face dropped. Elena saw this and wondered why. He quickly smiled, hoping she hadn't seen. But she did.

"That's just so fascinating. We have something in common then!" He said, he wanted nothing more than for this conversation to be dropped. But he also wanted to know much more about her.

Elena noticed his change in behaviour, "So, Stefan Salvatore?" She asked, with a grin. "How come I've never seen you around before? Considering you're a founding family member?"

"It's complicated. Wanna go for a walk?" Stefan replied, instantly.

Elena could tell this was a touchy subject for him. But why? She wanted to find out.

"Um sure." She smiled.

Stefan was clearly falling for Elena, and fast! But somehow, he felt like he couldn't really let her in, atleast not yet. On the other hand, though, Elena wasn't really interested in Stefan but that didn't change the fact that he obviously had some secrets.

They walked for about 5 minutes, until they reached a small bridge by the pond. No one was around and there were hardly any lights, making it quite difficult to see.

"I love coming here, it's so peaceful." Stefan broke the silence.

"You come here alot, then?" Elena questioned, making sure to observe every facial expression.

"Yeah, mostly to think or to just relax" He replied.

"Think about what?" Elena thought she might be over stepping her boundries by asking this but she didn't care. She wanted to know. In a way, she needed to know.

"Just stuff, I lost my mother when I was very young, we were so close. I used to talk to her about everything, but now I can't, so I come here." Stefan's eyes looked down, obviously trying to hide the tears he was fighting back.

Elena felt an instant connection, not with him, through their parents. She had lost her mother too. She felt herself wanting to comfort him but not wanting to lead him on in any way.

"Oh my! Stefan I'm so sorry... I know what it's like, I lost my parents not that long ago."This was the first time Elena had said those words without crying. Maybe it was because she was talking to someone else who had experienced this and was thinking of him.

He immediately looked up at her, "You did?" he asked.

Before Elena could put together a reply, her phone buzzed rapidly.

*Text from Jeremy*

"Hey Elena, I'm in trouble. I need your help. Please come home."

Elena's heart sunk. Even though she and her brother weren't on the best of terms right now, she still loved him more than anything and seeing that text sent her into complete worry.

"Is there something wrong, Elena?" Stefan asked.

"I'm sorry, it's my brother, he's in trouble I have to go. Maybe we can continue this some other time!" And just at that, she had ran off.

Stefan was going to offer her a ride but she had already took off at some speed. It was obviously important so he kept to himself, after a while he walked back to the bonfire. His mind constantly on Elena.

Elena kept trying to phone Jeremy but he wasn't picking up. This was making her worry a whole lot more. She wandered around the car park trying to find her car or atleast Aunt Jenna or anyone she knew that could give her a ride home as soon as possible.

She finally found her car and sighed with relief.

She sent a text to Jeremy,

*Text to Jeremy*

"I'm on my way, Jer!"

She went into her pockets to get her keys but they were gone. How could this have happened? She must've dropped them when she was running earlier. There was no time to go back and search for them so she decided to walk home.

It was a short drive so the walk couldn't be that long, right?

The darkness of the night was starting to freak Elena out, she looked up at the full moon above her, remembering all of the old stories her father and uncle John used to tell her and Jeremy when they were kids.

Suddenly, Elena heard heavy foot steps and snapped branches coming from behind her. Should she look back? Or just speed up hoping to reach home soon enough?

The foot steps and noises of nature got louder, Elena had no choice but to turn around and see for herself. She came to a stop, gathered her breath and slowly pivoted round. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She couldn't help but let out a little laugh, it was probably all in her head.

She turned around, ready to continue her walk home to her brother, when she fell to the ground. Her knees battering off the hard concrete pavement, her ankle twisting as she fell. Luckily she put out her hands to break her fall, to save her face smashing off of the pavement aswell.

She let out a groan of pain. Looking down at her hands and realising the blood, she let out another groan.

"Are you alright?" A soft mysterious voice came out of nowhere.

Elena's head looked up, her eyes locking on the most icy blue oceans of eyes she had ever seen. She took a moment to observe this man. His perfectly, un-perfect, messy, raven hair. His macho build underneath a black leather jacket. His adorable smirk, that obviously won it's way with every girl.

Her mouth dropped open without even realising. The man, who was clearly in his 20's, let out his hand, as if to help her back on her feet.

"I saw you fall, are you okay?" He asked again.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine. A bit bruised maybe. Who are you?" She asked, desperately wanting to know.

He smirked then replied, "I'm Damon."

 _Yay Damon is finally here ! Next chapter will be a lot about Damon :) Also thank you so much for liking and reviewing!, it means so much to me. I also want you guys, the readers, to be involved with the story too!, let me know in the reviews if I should make Damon and Stefan vampires or keep them human, I want it to be different from Tvd but also the same, I'm so confused lol, help please !_

 _Again thank you ! More chapters coming soon ! Xx_


End file.
